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Absolute/relative truth

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MCalavera
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03 Mar 2011, 8:32 am

ruveyn wrote:
A Cretan utters the statement "All Cretans are complete liars, never telling the truth". Is his statement an absolute truth, a relative truth or his his statement an absolute lie or a relative lie.

ruveyn


He's a Cretan. Therefore, in order for him to be a complete liar, never telling the truth, he'd have to lie concerning what he said.

Therefore, the Cretan is not making an accurate statement about all Cretans.

I'd say it's an absolute lie.



JWC
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03 Mar 2011, 9:08 am

It is absolutely true that there are no absolute truths.



Philologos
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03 Mar 2011, 9:59 am

JWC wrote:
It is absolutely true that there are no absolute truths.


The man who has never seen a wheatfield says there is no such thing as an ear of grain.



JWC
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03 Mar 2011, 10:05 am

I was demonstrating the contradiction.

Actually there are two types of truths; metaphysical truths, which are absolute and outside the influence of man (ex: gravity), and man made truths, which are true but created by man (ex: any statement of historical fact).



Philologos
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03 Mar 2011, 10:29 am

Sorry -

very hard to tell at times whether one is illustrating a point or being cute. I am often myself guilty.

I would myself be forced to say that your man made truth category, although more relevant data are to hand than other truths, still are not wholly known. Which is not so much a disagreement as operating at a different level of picky.



jc6chan
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03 Mar 2011, 11:21 am

MCalavera wrote:
jc6chan wrote:
MCalavera wrote:
Oodain wrote:
my take on it is that some thruths are defined by the people involved, not the circumstances, and a truth like that would not be true for everyone.


This is the position I take.

Some truths are relative and some truths are absolute.

Can you give me an example of a relative truth?


The color of any object that you and a color-blind person sees.

There is an absolute wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum.



leejosepho
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03 Mar 2011, 11:29 am

ruveyn wrote:
A Cretan utters the statement "All Cretans are complete liars, never telling the truth". Is his statement an absolute truth ...

Not if he is telling the truth.

ruveyn wrote:
A Cretan utters the statement "All Cretans are complete liars, never telling the truth". Is his statement ... a relative truth ...

Not that I can see.

ruveyn wrote:
A Cretan utters the statement "All Cretans are complete liars, never telling the truth". Is his statement ... an absolute lie ...

Not unless he is lying.

ruveyn wrote:
A Cretan utters the statement "All Cretans are complete liars, never telling the truth". Is his statement ... a relative lie.
ruveyn

Most likely.


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